Sorry for my long hiatus. I've been too caught up with my internship that I've barely time left for blogging. Today was my 4th day at work. Even though I've only been there for a short period of time, there are some things that I've learnt.
Currently I am interning at xxx, which is a public sector firm. Previously I worked at CS, which was from the private sector and there is certainly a stark contrast!
Firstly, the place is quite far away :( it's in the west and a journey there takes me one and a half hour. The traveling is very sian + work starts at 8am so I'll have to wake up at 6am just to reach there on time. The worst thing is that I CANNOT BRING A CAMERA PHONE IN :( I have to lock my iPhone in a locker before I enter as there is a x-ray machine/metal scanner before the entrance. Without my iPhone, I feel so bored all the time. There is no way to escape awkward silences with my colleagues/supervisors during lunch by looking at my phone. There is no form of entertainment when I feel bored at work. Also, there is no avenue for me to talk to L and my friends. Above are the first 2 things I don't like.
Well, the environment is very different. In xxx, they do do OT but I think it's less than in CS and you can leave 10 mins before time to knock off. Everyone does that and no one will look at you with a judging look. In CS, a lot of people do OT and no one ever leaves before the stipulated time. Also, the stress is lesser. A typical day there goes like this. Reach office at 8am, go for breakfast at 8.15am, come back at about 9+ am to do work. Then at 12pm, we go for lunch. Lunch times there are not fixed, or at least that's my impression. So far, the lunch times vary from 1.5hr-2hr. We then come back at about 1+/2pm to continue with work! 5.30pm knock off! In CS, there is no time for breakfast and sometimes, my colleagues will stay back/sacrifice their lunch time to finish their work. And in CS, I never seem to finish my work (at least for the first month) and time passes so damn fast. Meanwhile in xxx, time passes slowly...
The people at xxx talks about work life balance. They like their jobs a lot, not like in CS. And they feel that it's a secure job and it pays pretty well. They can also spend more time with their family cus the workload is not heavy. Sounds nice isn't it?
This experience has set me thinking about a lot of things. I want a high powered job after I graduate and I feel like I don't mind doing OT or handling heavy workloads. All because I want to be rich and successful in life. But my internship made me rethink what I want. Is it worth it to sacrifice time with family and friends for a high powered job? Will being rich and successful make me as happy as I feel when I spend time with my family, L and friends?
No comments:
Post a Comment